In case you haven’t noticed, I am having a massive love affair with Rodial. One that is slowly turning into the beauty brand love of my life. So when I got invited to their evening masterclass, I simply couldn’t resist.
The lovely people at Beauty Bazaar always treat us well, providing yummy cocktails and macarons (I’ll take two of both thanks!).
Gosh I love macarons, they are like the posh version of pringles aren’t they?! As soon as you have one, you just can’t stop until you have eaten a dozen plus ten. These had glitter on as well! Is there a macaron emoji?? Probably not. I wish there was a form you could fill out to suggest emojis, I always find they never have the ones I need, mostly food related. Anyway getting seriously sidetracked by the tasty macarons and cocktails, back on to the beauty!
We were informed that half the lesson will be on skincare and how to do a proper at home facial using their new magic gel (*spoiler alert* it really is magic!), and the second half on how to create perfect natural makeup with that glam Rodial edge.
First off, facial. Rodial expert Faye is a master of good skincare and her facials are A-MAZ-ING. She starts every facial by removing makeup with a cleansing water. The Rodial Dragon’s Blood cleansing water works wonders at removing makeup, which Faye explains is important to allow your following cleanse to really do its job. After cleansing comes exfoliation with Super Acids x-treme after-party scrub and a deep clean using Super Acids x-treme hangover mask. Even though both of these sound scary, they are very effective whilst still being really gently on the skin. I have the after-party scrub and not only does it smell amazing it gently exfoliates without leaving my skin dry and sensitive.
Top tip 1:
With the hangover mask once it has nearly dried, with damp hands gently massage the mask on your skin before going straight in with water to wash it off. This will allow you to get the maximum benefits from your mask.
The final facial step is of course moisturise, and this was done with their new Stem Cell magic gel. When I went for my facial with Faye she used this on my skin and afterwards the first thing I asked was what did you use for that last step?, because it felt incredible. This gel is life! A 10-in-1 hydrator, it literally does everything.
- day and night hydration
- plumping face mask
- makeup primer
- intense moisture boost
- smooths the look of skin
- complexion re-energizer
- dewy glow effect
- blurs away pore appearance
- lift and tighten effect
- protection from environmental stressor
So basically, dry skin – magic gel, tired appearance – magic gel, large pores – magic gel, life crisis – magic gel!!!!
I can’t tell you how fab this product is and it comes in one of those fantastic dispensers that makes sure you apply just the right amount.
After prepping the skin on the lovely model, it was onto makeup with Rodial’s senior makeup artist Rachel. She applied makeup to half the face for comparison.
She started off with Rodial skin tint+ which is a great medium coverage tinted moisturiser with spf20 that I have previously raved about here.
Next it’s onto their airbrush concealer.
Top Tip 2:
Gently massage the concealer in the compact to warm up the concealer and make it easier to apply. Rachel recommends applying the concealer down the edge of your nose and along the lower orbital rim to remove redness and define. She never applies concealer directly below the eye as it actually accentuates dark circles and gives that I’m wearing concealer look.
Next it’s banana powder time. This yellow tone highlighting powder is a must, as it suits a range of skin tones removing any surface redness. You can apply it all over the face to set your foundation, or underneath the eyes to counteract dark circles and compliment your contouring. It combats oily skin without looking too matte and heavy. This is great for my skin as I can touch up (if needed) throughout the day without fearing my face is going to be caked in powder.
After applying some liquid illuminator to the tops of cheekbone and down the front of the nose to add golden radiance, it was onto my favourite part. Contour!
Rodial only have one contouring powder, but when this slightly grey powder sculpts and defines like a dream, why would you need anymore. I was skeptical at first, but once Rachel explained the reason behind it’s greyish hue I was sold. After all, the hollows of your face are naturally shaded as opposed to dark brown lines. The compact itself is lovely and has a bit of weight to it, as well as a mirror which I really appreciate. The powder itself is also really easy to apply and beautifully soft without being too powdery.
Top Tip 3:
Rachel says when it comes to applying contour you want to brush slightly above the hollow of your cheeks. If you suck in your cheeks creating that much loved duck face, you can see where to apply. Starting from just behind the deepest hollow of your cheek and brush up towards your hairline will create the most natural definition. (Fab duck face by the lovely model here!)
Next, Rachel demonstrated the perfect smokey eye with none other than bronzing powder!
Top Tip 4:
Rachel swears by Rodial Instaglam bronzing powder as an eyeshadow primer, or add a bit more for a beautiful bronzed eyeshadow.
This was then followed by the extremely popular eye sculpt. This soft mousse blends like a dream to achieve an oh so glamorous classic smokey eye.
A wave of a blusher brush for some added colour and a swipe of the new incredibly creamy suede lips in Melrose Avenue (I have suede lips in Big Apple, the perfect mauve for Autumn). These lip pencils really are the best thing since sliced bread. They give that intense matte lip colour without any dryness (thanks vitamin e).
Finally, the big finish. I almost want to keep this little secret to myself but knew it had to be shared.
Top Tip 5:
Once all your makeup is finished, Rachel uses Dragon’s Blood hyaluronic tonic to set the makeup but more importantly create that perfect dewy glow. She recommends quite a good few sprays all over the face which you leave to dry for a minute or two. I love a dewy complexion and both Rachel and the model certainly had that glow from within. I will be buying this tonic buy the crate load, it looked that good!
This was another great event by Rodial at Beauty Bazaar Harvey Nichols and I picked up lots of tips and treats which I can’t wait to try out. If you have yet to try any of their products, what are you waiting for?!
Get your Rodial on,
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